ALA announces 2011 Emerging Leader participants

CHICAGO – The American Library Association (ALA) Emerging Leaders program, now in its fifth year, kicks off with a daylong session during the 2011 ALA Midwinter Meeting in San Diego.Â Eighty-three individuals have been selected through a very competitive process for the program thisÂ year.The program enables librarians and Â library staff from across the country to participate in project planning workgroups; network with peers; gain an inside look into ALA structure; and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity early in theirÂ careers.

Participants will receive two days of orientation and education with Maureen Sullivan, an organizational development consultant whose practice focuses on leadership development for the profession, and Peter Bromberg, assistant director, Princeton Public Library in New Jersey.Â â€œItâ€™s wonderful to see so many Emerging Leaders from the previous four years now serving in leadership positions across the association.Â Theyâ€™ve shown how valuable the Emerging Leaders program is in creating sustainable leadership for ALAâ€™s future. In our fifth year we will continue to build on the lessons learned and success achieved by them,â€ BrombergÂ said.

Following the kickoff session, the program will continue in an online learning and networking environment for six months, culminating with a poster session in which the 2011 Emerging Leaders will showcase the results of their project planning work at the 2011 Annual Conference in New Orleans. Participants commit to taking part in all aspects of the program and may have an opportunity to serve on an ALA, Division, Chapter or Round Table committee or a taskforce or workgroup upon completion ofÂ program.

Nearly half of this yearâ€™s participants have received sponsorships. The sponsors included ALA divisions, offices, round tables, state chapters, ALA affiliate groups and other organizations. Each sponsor commits to financial support of an Emerging Leader in order to defray costs for attending the ALA Midwinter Meeting and the AnnualÂ Conference.